Clark v. State

OPINION

BOLGER, Judge.

The police detained Marteshia Clark as a passenger in a reportedly stolen vehicle. The police searched the vehicle, finding packets of cocaine in a metal cigarette case left on the backseat. Clark challenges the superior court's conclusion that the search was justified as a consent search and a search incident to arrest. We conclude that the police were authorized to open the cigarette case based both on the vehicle owner's consent to a general search and on the cireumstances suggesting that the case had been left on the backseat of a stolen vehicle.

Background

On January…